News
Many teenagers in the United Arab Emirates are vitamin D deficient
28 January 2013
According to a new study, vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is widespread among adolescents living in the Emirates.
21 January 2015
The preventive effect of adequate magnesium intake on developing type 2 diabetes appears to vary depending on genetic variations and ethnicity, reports a new US study.
The observational study analyzed magnesium intake, cases of type 2 diabetes, and specific genetic variations in 7,287 African-American women and 3,285 Hispanic women between the ages of 50 and 79 (1). The study results showed that the participants’ risk of developing type 2 diabetes varied depending on magnesium intake, genetic variations (polymorphisms) in magnesium-related ion channel genes, and ethnicity. For example, among Hispanic women with low magnesium intake, certain single-nucleotide polymorphisms were associated with an increased risk of diabetes. Among African-American women with high magnesium intake, one specific gene variation was found to have a diabetes-protective effect.
The researchers commented that earlier large prospective studies of men and women have already associated increased magnesium intake with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes (2). The absorption of magnesium (Mg2+) relies on ion channels coded by genes of which several single-nucleotide polymorphisms are known. Such genetic variations in ion channels can significantly influence the body’s magnesium supply and glucose metabolism, and are associated with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (3). A sufficient intake of magnesium may partially compensate for magnesium deficiency caused by such genetic mutations. Further confirmation of these recent observations is needed from future mechanistic studies, the scientists noted.
28 January 2013
According to a new study, vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is widespread among adolescents living in the Emirates.
5 September 2014
A new US review suggests that people with severe vitamin D deficiency have almost twice the mortality rate of those with vitamin D levels greater than 35 ng/ml.
22 August 2011
A new analysis suggests that increased intakes of folate following the introduction of fortification in the US were associated with a reduction in the incidence of colorectal cancer.